Mothers in Science 64 ways to have it all

Transcription

1 Mothers in Science 64 ways to have it all

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3 The aim of this book is to illustrate, graphically, that it is perfectly possible to combine a successful and fulfilling career in research science with motherhood, and that there are no rules about how to do this. On each page you will find a timeline showing on one side, the career path of a research group leader in academic science, and on the other side, important events in her family life. Each contributor has also provided a brief text about their research and about how they have combined their career and family commitments. This project was funded by a Rosalind Franklin Award from the Royal Society 1

4 Foreword It is well known that women are under-represented in careers in science. In academia, considerable attention has been focused on the paucity of women at lecturer level, and the even more lamentable state of affairs at more senior levels. The academic career path has a long apprenticeship. Typically there is an undergraduate degree, followed by a PhD, then some post-doctoral research contracts and research fellowships, and then finally a more stable lectureship or permanent research leader position, with promotion on up the ladder to follow. A major crunch point for women comes at the appointment to lectureships, which are scarce, but subsequent promotion also seems to be problematic, leading to the metaphor of the leaky pipeline with the under-representation of women increasing at every career stage. Official statistics for the academic year 20/06 show 23% of lecturers, 13% of senior lecturers and readers and just 7% of professors in science subjects are women. The figures are gradually improving, but none the less, they are not good, and much hand wringing has ensued. It is easy to find analyses about why it is so hard for women to succeed in academic science. Many contributory factors have been convincingly identified. Frequent among them are the highly competitive atmosphere of research science and the difficulty in combining a demanding job with family commitments. These analyses are important. They can help to define the issues more precisely and to suggest measures to improve the situation. However, they have another, less positive effect. If aspiring women scientists are always reading about how difficult it is to succeed, is it any wonder that they opt for alternative career paths? I have often spoken to young women scientists who accept as fact that it is almost impossible to combine a career in academic science with motherhood, and if it is to be attempted at all, there are strict rules about how to do it. These rules are part of a much wider mythology among scientists of both genders at the PhD and post-doctoral stages in their careers. The myths bubble up from the combination of two aspects of the academic science environment. First, a quick look at the numbers immediately shows that there are far fewer lectureship positions than qualified candidates to fill them. Second, the mentors of early career researchers are academic scientists who have successfully made the transition to lectureships and beyond. These people are usually extremely enthusiastic about their work (see below) and can't imagine that anyone would want to do anything else. Indeed many of them assume that if you end up in any other career it must be because you failed to get a lectureship. This attitude is ridiculous. There are many fulfilling and exciting careers for those with a research science training, both inside and outside academia, of which an academic lectureship/research group leader position is just one. This combination of strong competition for lectureships coupled with a prevailing attitude that they are the only job worth having has an extremely damaging effect. Superstitions about what you must do to succeed abound. In terms of motherhood, the usual idea is that if you have children before you get your lectureship you might as well forget it. This is patently untrue, however it is a widely held belief. The myths discourage women, but I think the 'win-a-lectureshipor-fail' attitude is much more damaging than just that. Given the many career options available to research scientists, it creates deep and unnecessary anxiety, and men and women on average respond differently to this anxiety. Men tend to fight to avoid perceived failure, whilst women tend to sidestep to avoid the perceived need for aggressive competition. Put crudely, men are too scared to opt out, women are too scared to opt in. This leaves both genders in careers that may not be the best for them. 2

5 To solve this problem early career research scientists need to be freed to make the decisions right for them. There are clearly two parts to balancing this equation. On the one hand, all researchers must receive advice, support and encouragement to identify and work towards whatever career path they prefer. And on the other hand, the myths about the trials and tribulations of the academic career path must be dispelled. This book is a specific contribution to this latter effort. I am not claiming that academic science is not a competitive career. It has to be. We are spending taxpayers' and charity-givers' money on our research projects. There is less money available than there are research ideas, so a competitive process to try to ensure that the money is spent in the best possible way is essential. This rigorous peer review of research ideas is an important part of science and keeps standards high. The job is also most certainly demanding, but it is so exciting and rewarding that most scientist relish the challenges that research brings. Most of us are constantly deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to scientific endeavour, finding it exceptionally fulfilling. It is for this reason that it is frustrating to watch talented women scientists turning to other careers (albeit valuable and important ones) because they think they must if they want a reasonable work-life balance. For many of us the concept of work-life balance is rather problematic. The phrase suggests that your work has nothing to do with the rest of your life. I consider my work to be an integral part of my life that complements the other things I do, including being a mother. This will certainly not be the case for everyone, but I don't want women to choose other options because they think it is impossible to combine a career in academic science with family life. The idea that women cannot thrive in the world of academic science, successfully combining a vocation for science with family life is simply untrue. It is not only perfectly possible, but also there are absolutely no rules about how to do it. The aim of this book is to illustrate these points. On each page, the career path and family life of a woman research group leader in academic science are plotted on either side of a single timeline. Each woman has also provided a brief description of her research interests and of how she combined research and family life. It was not difficult to find participants for this book. Although the proportion of women in academic science is below 50%, the number of mothers enjoying these careers is substantial. The 64 women in this book are a somewhat random sample and they are presented in no particular order. If there was any method at all involved it was principally focussed on variety. The 64 participants have taken many different routes to their current positions. Some did not start their research careers until after their children were older, some took an extensive career break while their children were young, some worked part time for substantial parts of their careers, many found excellent childcare support from their partners, their family, or professional childcare providers. Many comment that the autonomy and flexibility characteristic of academic science make it much easier to combine with motherhood than many other professions. Everyone agrees it is very hard work, very enjoyable and very fulfilling. Ottoline Leyser 3

6 Anna Amtmann Sabbatical at the MPI Golm, Germany Twins start secondary school Family re-united Anna & Dominik in Berlin, Pawel & Tymon in Glasgow Senior Lecturer Pawel Lecturer and Head of Bioinformatics, FBLS, University of Glasgow Lecturer, FBLS, University of Glasgow Six months maternity leave Move to Glasgow Twins start primary school Erasmus student, Linguistics, Barcelona, Spain MSc Biology Göttingen, Germany Post-doc Biology Department, York, UK PhD Göttingen Tymon & Dominik born Meet Pawel Herzyk, also post-doc in York (Protein Structure Group, Chemistry Department) My group investigates the molecular mechanisms that allow plants to adapt to nutrient deficiency and salt stress. Experimental approaches range from patch clamp and enzymatic assays to microarrays and metabolomics. My career is based on enthusiasm, determination, hard work and luck. Having twin boys was tough but minimised the number of maternity leaves and turned the lab into a heaven of peace... Pawel and I have always had an equal share in childcare and household. Being in the same job means we understand the stress and the satisfaction that comes with it, and the personal commitment that it requires. 4

7 Beth Jefferies My work explores how language and memory processes are organised in the brain. I study patients who have damage to particular brain regions. I also use a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation to briefly disrupt the function of small areas of the cortex in healthy volunteers (see photo). When Meredith was a baby, my work as a research fellow was very flexible and I was able to stay at home with her at least one day a week. My husband also switched to part-time work: he found he really loved this role and is now her main carer. BA, Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford Married Paz RCUK Fellowship, University of Manchester Post-doc, University of Manchester PhD, University of Bristol Appointed senior lecturer, University of York Birth of Meredith, 6 months maternity leave, returned to work 4 days a week 5

8 Kate Bushby Deputy Director of MRC Translational Centre in Neuromuscular Diseases. Tom started Medical School in Became Co-ordinator of TREAT- Liverpool NMD EU Network of Excellence Appointed Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle Personal Chair in Neuromuscular Genetics MD thesis awarded Left Liverpool to study medicine in Dundee 80 Qualified in Medicine with commendation and began training jobs in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow Met Jimmy Steele (dental student and future husband) MSc awarded in Human Genetics with distinction, commenced MRC training fellowship Married Jimmy Steele Awarded MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship Jenny born Moved to Newcastle to a lectureship for Jimmy, our son Tom was born The neuromuscular research group is a multidisciplinary team involving clinically based and laboratory researchers. We focus on the molecular genetics of limbgirdle muscular dystrophies and related disorders. Having contributed to the identification of some of the genes underlying these heterogeneous phenotypes, the emphasis is moving towards understanding the functions of these genes and developing treatments. I am a firm believer of 'anything being possible' for women in SET, but 2 things are important to combine this with a good family life. First and foremost, is a supportive and understanding partner- my husband is also a Professor so we understand the pressures we are both under. Second, is stable childcare- we have had the most fantastic nanny. I have chosen to work 80% time since Tom was born, and this has been my safety valve- I don't think I would have been as happy without this one day to meet the children from school and just have time to catch up. Most people would not know I work part time- the other key is efficiency, but part time work is a luxury that some can't afford. 6

9 Judith Armitage I have always been fascinated by the physiology of single celled organisms, particularly bacteria, and their apparent ability to make decisions. My research has concentrated on the environmental sensing mechanisms controlling their direction of movement, and more recently combining molecular genetics, biochemistry and in vivo light microscopy Fellow of Merton College. with structural biology, bioinformatics and mathematical modelling to develop Fellow of UCL predictive models of sensory networks at both single cell and population levels. I never really considered any career but scientific research. I met my husband while we were undergraduates and have lived with the "2 body problem" ever since. Since obtaining permanent positions we have not worked in the same city, and with the arrival of our daughters decided I would take on the primary day to day management of the family (with a day nanny when the girls were pre-school) and we would live in Oxford and John would commute. While academic life is flexible, commuting for 20 years has not been easy for John and when the girls were young going to conferences meant leaning on grandparents and friends to get them to and from school etc. On the positive side, we have exciting careers and have two resourceful and independent daughters. BSc Hons, UCL in Microbiology, met future husband, John Jefferysa neurophysiologist PhD in Microbiology UCL. Awarded Lister Institute Fellowship and started research on Rhodobacter motility Awarded Quain studentship in Biology at UCL to continue research 75 Married John Appointed lecturer, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford and Fellow of St.Hilda s 80 Professor of Biochemistry Georgina born Elizabeth born Relocate to Oxford, John moves to St.Mary s Paddington as Wellcome SRF John becomes Chair of Neurophysiology and then Head of Division of Neuroscience, University of Birmingham Director, Oxford Centre for Integrative Systems Biology Georgina starts University 7

10 Sally Day Senior Lecturer Awarded Cyril Hilsum Medal by the British Liquid Crystal Society Parents moved nearby Ben started secondary school Julian seconded to work in Birmingham for a year, but only temporarily, so we didn t move! 8 Engineer at Thorn EMI Central Laboratories DPhil in Physics at Oxford University Met Julian, who was studying zoology at Oxford Royal Society University Fellowship, UCL Senior Scientific Officer in Liquid Crystals and Displays group at RSRE Malvern Seconded to RSRE Malvern to research applications of liquid crystals Lecturer in Electronic and Electrical Engineering, UCL Married Moved to London where Julian had settled to work with the Forensic Science Service Julian travelled to Holland and then Mali to research insect behaviour Ben was born and took 9 month career break Nanny took maternity leave, during the sabbatical Amy born, maternity leave, followed by 1 term sabbatical My research is on the application of liquid crystals in displays and for other applications. Liquid crystals are organic liquids with interesting electro-optical effects and to develop their applications means that Engineers, Physicists and Chemists have to work together. I am interested particularly in the optical properties and how to improve liquid crystal displays, as well as making other devices work, such as tunable focal length lenses and optical filters and switches for telecommunications. Working in a University certainly offers a lot of flexibility as to when and where to work; it is standard practice for people in London to work at home some of the time. So this has worked well with children, although a full time nanny was essential with pre-school children; it meant that I could really work at home. It's not easy, as any working mum will tell you, but I wouldn't enjoy being at home all of the time. I think the children like knowing that their mum is developing new technology, but I do make sure there's time for other hobbies - like making costumes!

11 Marian Holness I apply concepts developed in the material sciences to rocks. I try to understand their history by examining thin rock slices under the microscope. My main interest at present is the process of solidification of molten rock under volcanoes. Both our children went to full-time nursery at the age of 4 months. I am responsible for dropping off the children at school and picking them up from the childminder at 5:30, so my working day is shorter than that of many of my colleagues. But I find the total escape from work into domestic duties provides an immensely creative environment from which my research has benefited. My first sabbatical year was spent in Cambridge due to the impossibility of re-locating the family, but we hope to spend the next one abroad when my Royal Society University husband is no longer Fellowship, Edinburgh University Senior Tutor. Post-doc in Edinburgh University Elected to a Fellowship of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Returned to Cambridge to take up an Assistant Lectureship promoted to Lecturer Met my future husband, Stephen Siklos (a mathematician), in Cambridge Promoted to Senior Lecturer Promoted to Reader Edward born. Stephen appointed Senior Tutor of Jesus College, Cambridge Arthur born PhD in Earth Sciences, Cambridge University BA in Natural Sciences, Cambridge University 9

12 Claire Carmalt Reader, UCL Rosie Born, maternity leave Victoria starts school Rosie goes to nursery, maternity leave ends and Stephen starts new job as Principal Scientist at Summit plc all on the same day! Senior Lecturer, UCL BSc Chemistry, Newcastle upon Tyne Postdoctoral, University of Texas at Austin USA PhD Newcastle upon Tyne Met Stephen Wren, a medicinal chemist Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship, University College London (UCL) Lecturer, UCL Royal Society of Chemistry Meldola Medal Stephen appointed a Medicinal Chemist at Xenova, Slough Married Stephen Victoria goes to nursery Victoria born, maternity leave Stephen moves to Argenta Discovery, Harlow to take up Team Leader position My research is aimed at developing new highly volatile precursors to deposit films of materials and to investigate in detail the properties of the resulting films. The films are deposited by chemical vapour deposition and typical properties tested include gas sensors and conductivity I waited until I had gained some funding, publications and a research group before having children. This worked well for me because I was initially spending long hours in the laboratory. Now I spend a lot of time managing my research group, writing proposals and publications and I am able to work from home sometimes. This flexibility has really helped as the commute to London, work and caring for a young family makes life very hectic! 10

13 Pat Monaghan My research centres on life history trade-offs, and how these are influenced by environmental factors. This involves studies of growth, reproduction and longevity, mainly in birds. I collaborate with molecular biologists and endocrinologists. I am also involved in conservation related research. I delayed having children until it felt right. Having children helped me prioritise my work, which then improved considerably! Field work became more difficult, but I also have interests in laboratorybased questions. Neil and I have Chairs in the same department, and share all aspects of family life. Having excellent, reliable childcare available in conveniently located nurseries made everything much easier. Joint Director, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Glasgow Chair in Animal Ecology, University of Glasgow Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Corin born Glasgow University nursery opens Kiloran born Kiloran starts school Corin starts school Elected President of International Society for Behavioural Ecology Kiloran starts secondary school Corin moves to our village Kindergarten (which has an out of school club too) Corin starts secondary school Lectureship Glasgow PhD Durham 80 Met my husband Neil in Glasgow Married Neil Neil gets a permanent position in Glasgow 75 BScZoology Glasgow 11

14 Jean Beggs C.B.E. for services to science Royal Society Professorship Biochemical Society Novartis Medal and Prize Royal Society Gabor Medal Professor of Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh Paul goes to senior school 12 Postdoc University of Edinburgh PhD University of Glasgow BSc University of Glasgow 70 Beit Memorial Fellowship for Medical ARC Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge 75 Married Ian the same day he graduated in Medicine We move to Cambridge 80 We move to London Lectureship, Imperial College, London Simon born we share a nanny with a neighbouring family Royal Society Senior Fellow, University of Edinburgh Elected member of EMBO Royal Society University Fellow, University of Edinburgh Elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society Elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh University of Edinburgh Professorial Fellow Ian gets job in Edinburgh/I resign lectureship & move to Edinburgh Simon starts primary school Paul starts nursery school & Simon starts senior school Birth of Paul Simon leaves school; we buy the house next door and renovate it After developing an efficient gene cloning system for yeast cells, I became interested in RNA splicing. The mechanism and regulation of splicing in yeast is still my main focus, along with recent forays into systems biology. I have been extremely fortunate to have received Royal Society Fellowships, especially, after resigning a lectureship to return to Edinburgh with my husband. He has been extremely supportive of my career, which was vital to me. We believe in having good domestic support, nannies when the boys were young, au pairs later. We still have an au pair who helps with our dogs.

15 Amanda Cooper-Sarkar Professor Somehow having worked quietly on parton distribution functions in the proton for years I got back fully into research and became a recognised world expert in this field. My daughter was very ill in her early months, so I couldn't work. I took up a tutorial position at St Hilda's, with the idea that I could combine undergraduate teaching with childcare, softpeddling on the research. University Lecturer, University of Oxford Supernumerary Fellow, St Hilda s College and Lectureship at St John s College Reader Adopted our second child Harry in 1997, maternity leave Commonwealth Exchange Fellow, Tata Institute of Fundamental, Bombay DPhil Particle Physics, Oxford BA Physics, Oxford 75 Royal Society Fellow, National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, Tsukuba, Japan Met Subir, also a physicist Associate, Rutherford Appleton Lab, UK Married Subir 80 Senior Scientific Officer, Rutherford Appleton Lab Senior Fellow, CERN, Geneva Left physics to join Eklavya, an educational research institute in Bhopal, India Beale Fellow and Senior Tutor in Physics, St Hilda s College, Oxford Became pregnant with our first child, Shanti, and came back to the UK for her birth 70 13

16 Christine Davies Leverhulme Trust senior fellow OBE Rosalind Franklin Award Elizabeth starts university PPARC senior fellow 80 BA Cambridge Post-doc, Cornell University, NY married John, a condensed matter physicist John also gets post-doc position at Cornell 14 PhD in theoretical particle physics, Cambridge Ohio State University and UC Santa Barbara Council Advanced fellow at Glasgow Temporary lecturer in Physics, Glasgow John appointed lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Glasgow Appointed to a lectureship at Glasgow Elizabeth starts primary school Alison born. Glasgow University starts a nursery and both Elizabeth and Alison move to that Elizabeth attends US nurseries Elizabeth born. Take 6 months leave with 6 months part-time work. Find good childcare close to home Alison starts primary school Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Professor and Head of the theory group, Galsgow Santa Barbara, California Reader, Glasgow Elizabeth and Alison attend the primary school in Santa Barbara My research has focussed on the frustrating but fascinating problem of how to pin down the properties of the fundamental constituents of matter called quarks when we cannot study them directly. In 23 my collaborators and I achieved a breakthrough in showing that the theory of how quarks behave could be solved numerically. This means that we can now calculate, for example, the masses of particles like the proton that are made of quarks but which can be studied experimentally and this opens the way to the accurate determination of the masses of quarks. I was very lucky to obtain a 5-year fellowship soon after arriving in Glasgow, giving me the flexibility to combine research with motherhood. The fact that my husband is also an academic has meant that we have been able to take simultaneous sabbaticals and spend two academic years in the USA at different times. Our children have enjoyed this enormously. Elizabeth starts secondary school Alison starts secondary school

17 Caroline Dean I became very interested in how prolonged cold triggers flowering (a process called vernalization) when I was a post-doc in California. Over the last 15 years my lab has used genetics and biochemistry to study the pathways that regulate vernalization requirement and response in Arabidopsis. These involve conserved epigenetic regulators (from plants to humans) and provide a great system to unpick mechanisms that link environmental changes with chromatin silencing. I waited until I had a research group before having children. Personally I found this a good option as experimental work is not as flexible as managing. Writing, planning etc can be done at all times of day and night. We also accepted the fact that we needed a lot of domestic/childcare help so home time meant fun with the kids and not chores. Recently, a Post-Doc major perk has been to take the Advanced Genetic whole family to meetings (and Sciences Berkeley, do a bit of exploring at the CA, USA same time). Project Leader John Innes Centre William born - Pippa born nanny moves in! Date Associate Director John Innes Centre William starts kindergarten EMBO fellow Officer of the Order of the Pippa starts kindergarten British Empire Elected Fellow of Royal Society Pippa starts secondary school William starts secondary school - nanny replaced by au pair au pair moves out! photo shows a recent trip to a meeting in Beijing. BA Hons Biology, York PHD York Jonathan and I both move to take up independent positions in Norwich, UK Met Jonathan Jones whilst working at Advanced Genetic Sciences, CA, USA 15

18 Julia Yeomans Professor of Physics, Oxford Reader, Oxford Becky born EPSRC Advanced Fellow Vicky born Rosie born Married Peter Hore, a Physical Chemist at Oxford Pauline Chan Fellow, St Hilda s College, Oxford Lecturer, Southampton Kate born My research is in theoretical and computational soft condensed matter physics, using mathematics to understand physical systems. We are interested in liquid crystals, liquids moving on microstructured surfaces and biological problems such as DNA ejection from viral capsids and bacterial swimming. 16 BA Physics, Oxford 75 Post-doc, Cornell PhD Condensed Matter Theoretical Physics, Oxford 80 I am privileged to able to combine a large family and an exciting career. Lots of things have helped: an EPSRC Fellowship when the children were small, the flexibility of academic work, and Peter and I being appointed to permanent jobs at the same university.

19 Athene Donald My research is in the area of soft matter physics, encompassing both synthetic and increasingly biological systems (including proteins and cells). I am particularly interested in structure-property relationships, and use a variety of characterisation tools in my group. I did not intend to be an academic, but fell in love with research when a postdoc at Cornell University (USA) and I swapped research field from metals to polymers. I was (unknowingly) pregnant when I took up my lectureship in Cambridge, and this was probably good timing as I had job security. My husband, a mathematician, became the primary carer of our children when his fellowship funding ceased and it was clear I was successfully established. But that is not always an easy option for a man, and he has not been able to return to academia. Birth of Margaret Appointed Reader Cambridge University Matthew s fellowships finish, and he becomes the primary carer Appointed Professor Cambridge University Deputy Head of Department Elected to the Royal Society James to University Margaret to University BA Cambridge Postdoc, Cornell PhD University, Cambridge USA 75 Married Matthew 80 Appointed Lecturer Cambridge University Fellow, Cambridge Matthew appointed Fellow, Cambridge Birth of James 17

20 Jelena Gavrilovic Lecturer, 75% time, University of East Anglia, Norwich Junior Group Leader, 60% time, Strangeways Laboratory Post-doc, 50% time, Strangeways Laboratory Senior Lecturer University of East Anglia Moved to Norwich Anna born, 7 month career break BSc University College London Technician University College London 80 Assistant Strangeways Laboratory Cambridge Post-doc Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris PhD Strangeways Laboratory Cambridge Post-doc University College London (commuting from Cambridge) Married Tony Tony becomes freelance We investigate how consultant, based in Cambridge the interactions of cells with their surroundings are modulated through the action of cell surface and matrix-degrading proteinases, in a number of normal and disease situations, including wound healing and diabetes. Tony working in London Sonia Born, 1 year career break I have had some great mentors who helped me to build my career alongside having children. My husband works from home, which has also been hugely beneficial, although he travelled a lot and rather unpredictably when our children were small. At times working part-time was challenging for developing my career but being able to work and spend time with our children when they were young was ideal for me.

21 Veronica van Heyningen Human genetics is the area that has excited me for more than three decades. From the earliest days of gene mapping my work has been aimed at understanding the ways EMBO Member in which mutations can disrupt function, and, at the same time, give us insight into normal biology by studying human disease and animal models. Member Human Genetics Commission My children were born while I was still a relatively young postdoc. With a purely research post and good employer, it was possible to accommodate maternal duties and work. A domestically helpful husband, whose mother was a working scientist, has also been a useful asset. I am a fan of nursery care, allowing children to be socialised and yet not fixated on just one carer. My ambitions grew with increasing maturity, so that I could accommodate committee work, as well as research and travel, when the children were self-sufficient and I was not yet too ancient. Head of Section MRC Special Appointment MRC Senior Scientist group leader Fellow Academy of Medical Sciences Fellow Royal Society of Edinburgh Honorary Professor, University of Edinburgh Howard Hughes International Scholar Paul Cambridge Natural Sciences, BA 1996 Eleanor UCL History, BA 1998; Museum Studies MA 1999 Fellow of the Royal Society Paul PhD 1999, UCL; enters fast stream civil service Simon Vice Principal Edinburgh; Personal Chair in Learning and Teaching Eleanor fast stream civil service Eleanor marries Benet First grandchild born Paul marries Maddy MS Biochemistry Northwestern, USA BA Cambridge Beit Fellowship MRC Mammalian Genome Unit, Edinburgh DPhil Genetics, Oxford 70 MRC Tenured - full time Postdoctoral Fellow MRC Human Genetics Unit 30 hours pw Married Simon, go to Northwestern University, Illinois, S as postdoc Eleanor born, nursery January 1977 Paul born, nursery January 1976 Simon appointed lecturer in Biochemistry, Edinburgh Return to UK, Simon Demonstrator, Oxford Eleanor to school Paul to school 19

22 Judith Goodship Professor of Medical Genetics Institute of Child Health, London King s Fund Travelling Fellowship, MB, ChB Edinburgh University BSc Hons Physiology Edinburgh University Harvard, USA Institute of Child Health, London Newcastle upon Tyne Leicester 80 MRCP Consultant in Clinical Genetics MD Newcastle upon Tyne Met Tim Married Tim Christopher born FRCP Nicola born As a clinical academic I see patients in genetic clinics as well as doing research. The reasons for referral to a genetic clinic are very diverse and so I have identified genes for a number of genetic disorders. However, my main research interest is understanding the causes of congenital malformation. Having met Tim in Newcastle, it was a big decision for me to move to the Institute of Child Health, London. We both obtained Fellowships to work in Boston, the timing didn't coincide perfectly but we spent six months together there immediately after we married. Tim returned to Newcastle and I to London until in 1989, on completing my MD, I joined Tim in Newcastle. I delayed starting a family until I had an NHS consultant post and both children started nursery at three months of age. Tim and I are both NHS consultants with research groups. Fortunately we seem to be able to plan around each other so that one of us is always at home for Christopher and Nicola. 20

23 Fiona Polack Senior lecturer, York Elizabeth starts University I always wanted to research something! I now research systems and software engineering, and particularly engineering complex systems. The work is increasingly interdisciplinary, and brings together state of the art computer science, engineering, biology, and other sciences. My career is built on luck: a PhD in the only 1980s history group using computers, running out of contracts just as an MSc opportunity arose, a workplace nursery opened, an unemployed friend with childcare experience, etc. Being settled in York helped childcare and schooling. A key player is my husband, who shares all the child care and housework. It takes working on, the work-life balance is ok, with two original and enthusiastic children as consolation. PhD, History, Cambridge BA, Geography, Cambridge One miserable year unemployed Post-doc, projects at Essex and York 80 associate, rigorous software engineering, York MSc in Information processing, York Rolling one-year contract lectureship Appointed to lectureship Married Chris Elizabeth at nursery Elizabeth born, September 1988 Permanent lectureship, York Alexander at nursery, Elizabeth at school Alexander born, November weeks maternity leave writing courses whilst night-feeding 75 21

24 NATO Fellow University of California Berkely Leverhulme Reseach Fellowship St Hugh s College Oxford 22 Gillian Gehring Visiting Fellowships Karlsruhe Techniche Hoschule Germany and Institute Laue Langevin Grenoble BSc Physics University of Manchester a Lecturer in Theoretical Physics, Oxford DPhil Oxford in theoretical Physics Trudi born Married Karl Gehring Honorary DSc University of Salford Professor of Solid State Physics University of Sheffield Rosalind born Honorary Professor Chinese Academy of Science: Institute for Semiconductors Honorary Professor Shanxi Normal University Linfen Fellowship of European Physical Society Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship Emeritus Professor University of Sheffield O.B.E For Services to Physics and to Equal Opportunities Board of Administration European Platform for women in Science Honorary Fellow of St Hugh s College Oxford Trudi goes to University Visiting Professorship for 3 months in KTH Stockholm Rosalind goes to University My research is focussed on understanding the microscopic properties of solids. Initially, I was a theoretical physicist who interacted closely with experimentalists, but in recent years there has been a dramatic shift as I now lead an experimental group, studying magnetic semiconductors. We delayed having our children until we were both well established in our careers; Karl who, is also a physicist, was a Fellow in Oxford before moving to the GEC central research labs. When our children were young we had a succession of good nannies and then graduated to au pairs when they were both at school. About the time of our move to Sheffield Karl became ill and took early retirement so he took over a lot of the child care when our daughters were in their teens. In recent years, since our daughters have become independent, Karl has come with me on various foreign trips, which have been great for both of us.

25 Leslie Ann Goldberg My research lies at the intersection of mathematics and computation. The research area is called "computational complexity" and the goal is to understand the inherent difficulty of computational problems. I am particularly interested in understanding the mathematics underlying algorithms for counting and for randomly sampling. My husband and I work in the same department, which has made it relatively easy to organise childcare. Instead of having a nanny, we have used after-school clubs and holiday playschemes. The type of work that we do (proving theorems, writing papers), can easily be done anywhere, at any time, and this flexibility has been helpful. Senior Lecturer, Warwick Reader Appointed Professor at Liverpool University Short sabbatical in Berkeley, CA The boys enjoy local schools in CA Isaac to start secondary school Arthur starts secondary school Paul appointed Reader at Liverpool birth of Isaac Paul becomes a lecturer at Warwick BA, Computer Science and Political Science, Rice University, USA Lecturer at Warwick University Senior Member of Technical Staff, Sandia Labs Fellow, Algorithms and Discrete Maths Dept, Sandia Labs Albuquerque PhD, Computer Science, Edinburgh married Paul Paul a Postdoctoral Fellow at Aston University birth of Arthur Paul a Fellow at the Univ of NM (working at Sandia) 23

26 Sunetra Gupta So Good in Black published Zoological Society of London Scientific Medal 10 Short sabbatical at Princeton Daughters attending local school in US Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology 24 PhD, Imperial College, University of London AB Biology, Princeton University Junior Fellowship, Merton College, and Department of Zoology, University of Oxford The Glassblower s Breath published Awarded Wellcome Trust Training Fellowship in Biomathematics Memories of Rain published Moonlight into Marzipan published Awarded Wellcome Senior Fellowship in Biodiversity Reader in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Dept of Zoology, Oxford A Sin of Colour published Isolde born Olivia born Married Adrian Hill, Wellcome Principal Fellow in the Dept of Medicine at Oxford My main area of interest is the evolution of diversity in pathogens, with particular reference to the infectious disease agents that are responsible for malaria, influenza and bacterial meningitis. I use simple mathematical models to generate new hypotheses regarding the processes that determine the population structure of these pathogens. I work closely with laboratory and field scientists both to develop these hypotheses and to test them. The flexibility of a career in science has certainly allowed me to spend a lot of time with my children, particularly as I am able to do much of my work at home. Trying to maintain a career as a novelist at the same time has however been difficult, but writing is a passion that I cannot easily put aside. In both cases, it is not so much the work itself but all else that goes along with it (such as travelling to conferences) that becomes hard to accommodate.

27 Julia Goodfellow Vice - Chancellor of the University of Kent Chief Executive of My research career has focused on the study of macromolecular structures using both experimental the BBSRC and molecular modelling methods. The biological structures I have studied include long chain sugars, the cornea, proteins and modified DNAs. Modifications of such structures alter Henry starts the ability of the macromolecule to interact with other molecules and can be related Vice Master of University to disease states. Birkbeck I have had a traditional academic career combining both research and teaching with administrative roles at Birkbeck, University of London. Subsequently I became Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Council, a non-departmental public body that provides funding for biosciences research in UK universities and in seven sponsored institutes. In 27, I became vice-chancellor at the University of Kent. I married in 1972 after finishing my undergraduate studies. We have two children and have combined family life with both of us having careers in science. Our daughter is an undergraduate and our son is finishing his Post Doctorate at studies for Stanford CA Lecturer at a PhD. Birkbeck BSC in Physics at Bristol PHD at the Open University 75 Fellow at Birkbeck 80 Henry my first child was born Head of the Crystallography Professor of Bio-molecular Sciences at Birkbeck Ros my second child was born Department at Birkbeck Ros starts University 70 Married Peter 25

28 Claire Grierson Life Science Coordinator, Bristol Centre for Complexity Sciences Parent s helper starts SEB President s Medal Reader, University of Bristol Mark retires 6 month Bristol University Women Returners Fellowship to focus on research Erin born, I worked part time for seven months BSc Microbiology and Microbial Technology, University of Warwick PhD Plant Molecular Biology, Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge Post Doc John Innes Centre, Norwich Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship Lecturer, University of Bristol Met Mark through mutual friends in Bristol Bethan Born, I worked part time I have studied for seven months development and differentiation throughout my career, enjoying the fantastic tools and resources available in the model plant Arabidopsis. I am increasingly interdisciplinary, most prominently as a member of the University of Bristol Centre for Complexity Sciences. This brings insights and fresh ways of thinking to our work on how cells specialise. I was already pregnant when I got my lectureship at Bristol, and started the job after maternity leave with Bethan. I worked part time for several months after each of our children was born. This, and an extra six months without teaching that the University gave me when I returned after Erin was born, gave me time to be a hands-on Mum and keep my research going. Being able to work at home, and at any time of day makes it much easier to cope with my caring responsibilities, both for the children, and for Mark who retired through ill health in 27. We now have a parent's helper, who helps Mark with the children and the household chores after school. This way I can work full time and still have time to enjoy our family. 26

29 Helen Fielding My research uses lasers to investigate the spectroscopy and dynamics of the excited states of atoms, small molecules, organic molecules and biomolecules in the gas-phase and on metal surfaces. I am also interested in developing ways to control the photophysics and photochemistry of these systems using ultrafast laser technology. My husband is currently head of measurement research and development at LGC in Teddington and we both commute to work for about an hour, in opposite directions. We have accepted that we need a lot of childcare to cope with two careers. Personally, I am RSC Harrison finding that having Fridays at Memorial Prize home is the best compromise. It worked well for me having my children near the beginning of my research career when my research group was smaller and I had fewer external commitments. Lecturer, Chemistry, Kings College London (KCL) Post-doc Physics, Amsterdam National Physical Laboratory DPhil (Oxford) Reader, Chemistry, KCL Married Julian Katherine goes to day nursery Katherine born Awarded 5 year EPSRC Advanced fellowship David born RSC Marlow medal David goes to day nursery Move to University College London Professor, Chemistry, KCL Change childcare arrangements employ a nanny RSC Corday-Morgan medal David starts nursery Katherine starts school IoP Mosely medal Employ a nanny for 4 days and work at home on Fridays Experiment with more flexible working David starts school Moved with PhD supervisor to Oxford Started PhD, Cambridge BA Natural Sciences, Chemistry, Cambridge Met Julian at a party in London 27

30 Ruth Lynden-Bell Elected Fellow of the Royal Society Started PhD, Cambridge 28 Joint College Lecturer, St John s and New Hall Finished PhD at CalTech, USA BA, Chemistry, Cambridge Jaffe Fellowship from Royal Society Fellow and College Lecturer, New Hall Half time lecturer, Sussex University Fellow, New Hall Cambridge 60 Sabbatical at CalTech Daughter born Married Donald 75 Son born 80 Relocated to Cambridge, where Donald elected Chair in Astrophysics Newton Trust Lecturer, Cambridge Sabbatical at ANU, Canberra Sabbatical at UCLA Professor at Queen s University Belfast, Co-founder of the Atomistic Simulation Group Editor, Molecular Sabbatical at ANU, Canberra Physics Sabbatical at Boston U Retired to Cambridge, Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow My current research involves trying to understand the properties of liquids and solutions using computational modelling. One project is to compare the properties of model liquid water with properties of liquids made from models which have been modified in well-defined ways. Another current interest is in the solvent properties of ionic liquids. Originally I was an NMR spectroscopist measuring chemical shifts and coupling constants of simple molecules, but I made the transition to a theorist and then a computational chemist partly as my interests changed and partly because it was easier to combine theory and computational work with family timetables. My most important asset has been a supportive husband who respects my abilities.

31 Eileen Harkin-Jones My main area of interest is in polymer processing and how processing affects structuring and properties of polymeric materials. I currently lead two large EPSRC funded consortia on polymer nanocomposites (multiscale modelling and process optimization). I am also working on the novel processing of biodegradable tissue scaffolds and hope to expand this area of my research in the coming years. Chair WISE N.I. A high degree of planning and organization, the support of my husband and setting ambitious goals have been the key ingredients in achieving my current academic position. I have been advised on more than one occasion that applying for the next promotion or high profile grant might be out of reach but I try to go with my gut instinct and this has always paid off. Having confidence in your own abilities is very important. No matter how important my work is however, at the end of the day it is my family that gives me the greatest enjoyment in life and this knowledge ensures that I keep any work pressures Esso Teaching in perspective. Fellowship Professor, Mechanical Engineering, QUB Senior lecturer, QUB James born Sophie born Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) Queen s University Belfast (QUB) Assistant, QUB R&D manager, Jordan Plastics ltd B.Eng (Mechanical), University College Dublin Elizabeth born Married Eamonn Lecturer in Chemical Eng Dept., QUB PhD, QUB Hannah born 29

32 Frances Kirwan Catherine starts university President of the London Mathematical Society Elected fellow of Royal Society 30 Post-doc Oxford Post-doc Harvard DPhil, Oxford BA in Maths, Cambridge Lecturer, Oxford 80 Married Michael Reader, Oxford Catherine born Geoff born Sarah born 6 months sabbatical in Australia All children now at school 9 months sabbatical in Australia My research is in pure mathematics, though some of the motivation for the problems I work on comes from theoretical physics. I work in algebraic geometry, mainly on classification problems, studying geometric objects called moduli spaces. While combining an academic career with bringing up three children, I have been very lucky to have had extremely supportive colleagues (as well, of course, as husband, family and other childcare support). In addition, being a mathematician may well have helped: for my research I have no need of a lab, and relatively little need of a library. Thus in principle, at least, I could do research while feeding a baby or singing lullabies to a toddler (though I am not sure that much of that happened in practice)!

33 Marysia Placzek My research aims to understand the differentiation of cells in a particular region of the brain, the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus mediates homeostasis : the control of the body's internal environment. By understanding how it develops, we get clues as to how the hypothalamus functions normally, and how dysfunction in hypothalamic cells leads to wide-ranging problems, including age-related morbidities. The flexibility of academic work, and the support of colleagues have been hugely useful in allowing me to juggle my job and the demands of a fairly large family of four children. My husband and I run adjacent, but separate labs - and this gives us the chance to talk to each other, away from the chaos of home. The main reason that the juggling works Independent research scientist: NIMR, Mill for me is that I love both parts of what I Hill, London do - getting huge enjoyment from the lab, and even more enjoyment from the family. David born Nick born Senior Lecturer, Sheffield Jonathan born Professor, Sheffield David starts school Deputy Director, MRC Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics Nick starts school Caitlyn born Nick starts secondary school David starts secondary school Jonathan starts school Caitlyn starts school BSc Edinburgh 80 Post-doc, Columbia University, NY, USA PhD London Married Andy 31

34 Rosalind John 32 BSc Biochemistry, King s College London Post-doc on Huntington disease at University of San Francisco and Stanford, California PhD Biochemistry, Imperial Post-doc on Genomic Imprinting at University of Cambridge I have a Senior Lecturer, Cardiff long-standing interest School of Biosicences in mammalian epigenetics Part time MRC er and disease. After a circuitous break but entertaining career as a Daughter born, postdoctoral researcher (US and maternity leave UK), I was appointed directly as a Senior Lecturer in Genetics at Cardiff University late in 23. Maintaining a career and having a family has not been entirely straightforward but any obstacles that I have encountered have been over come by a healthy dose of stubborn determination and the generous support of my colleagues, in particular Professors Azim Surani, Mandy Fisher and the late Anne McLaren. It has also been crucial to embrace a somewhat nomadic lifestyle to pursue my research goals. Balancing my career and my family can be somewhat challenging. Relocating to Cardiff meant starting from scratch, both for myself and my young daughter. We had to build new friendships and the much needed support network for when things do not go according to plan. But things have worked out much better than I could have expected. Now we just have to learn some Welsh!

35 Effie Mutasa-Göttgens The goal of my research is to assist plant breeders in developing improved 'weather-resistant' crops. In recent years, my principle focus has been to improve our understanding of environmental and physiological control of bolting and flowering in sugar beet. In particular, we have created transgenic models to study the role of the plant hormone gibberellin during reproductive growth and bolting which, in sugar beet, marks the reproductive transition. My husband is also a career scientist - fortunatley in biomedical research which is generally better funded than plant science - this, for us, was critical in the early years when the equivalent of all my salary was spent on childcare. Without space for au pairs and local family networks, this was the only way I could keep working and not lose touch with my research. I just about managed to keep my head above water at home and work. It soon became impossible for both my husband and I to remain fully competitive - something had to give - I slowed down. Now, the children are older, my husband's career has taken off, mine is getting back on track and worth every sacrifice. I love my children to bits! PhD Mycology. Biotechnology Centre, Cranfield Inst. of Technology Post Doc, QMW, University of London Post Doc. Rothamsted, Broom s Barn Head of Plant Biotechnology Group, Broom s Barn Sofia born Jessica born Both children now at school, husband given tenure and promoted to reader BSc Hons. Applied Biology, Hatfield Polytechnic 33

36 Aline Miller Senior Lecturer, Manchester University Lewis was born Laurenzo was born PhD Durham University BSc in Chemistry Strathclyde University Lecturer, Manchester University Post-doc, Cavendish Laboratory Cambridge Alberto appointed to Lectureship at Manchester Met Alberto (he was a lecturer in France at the time) My research spans a wide area with particular emphasis on applying physical principles within the life-science field. The unifying theme is to relate the physics of self-assembly to functional, microstructural and mechanical properties to gain both process and product control. Of particular current interest is the development of responsive tissue engineering scaffolds. 34 My husband works as an academic in a similar field, and this has helped enormously. He understands the nature of this job and has helped with the running of my reserach group while I have been on maternity leave. Between us we are managing to juggle both work and home life by working flexibly and sharing commitments equally.

37 Sandra Knapp My research centres around the description and documentation of plant diversity. I work mainly in the New World tropics on the nightshade family (Solanaceae) - describing new species and working out the evolutionary relationships between these organisms. My study plants include tomatoes, potatoes, aubergines, and tobacco, so there is a large people element to the science as well. My work takes place in both in the museum and in the field, and involves going to out of the way places to explore habitats and collect plants. My career has had periods where I did not work for pay, but my husband has always supported my scientific work and made it possible for me to continue to do what I like best! The Museum has also been an incredibly flexible employer - right down to helping with the children for important events when I had no childcare. James is also a field biologist, and we have often taken the children with us in the field; they say these times have been among the best in their lives, even though we were all working. promotion to Principal Scientific Officer Senior Scientific Officer, Botany Department, The Natural History Museum, London Victor starts school promotion to Individual Merit researcher Isabel starts school; children move to school near the Museum All three children at secondary school! Alfred starts in physics at Cambridge Isabel starts at Slade School of Art Bachelor of Arts, Pomona College, California, USA 80 married James Mallet PhD Cornell University, New York Move to Mississippi State University, USA NATO Fellow, The Natural History Museum birth of Alfred birth of Isabel Alfred starts school in Islington James appointed lecturer at UCL Genetics birth of Victor James appointed Entomologist at Mississippi State University 35

38 Ottoline Leyser Elected Fellow of Royal Society Married Stephen Stephen becomes freelance writer PhD Cambridge Birth of Francesca Lecturer, University of York Post-Doc, Cambridge Post-Doc, Bloomington, Indiana, USA Birth of Joshua Francesca starts school Reader, University of York Joshua starts school Professor, University of York Francesca starts secondary school Joshua starts secondary school My research is aimed at understanding the complex network of long-range hormonal signals that regulate shoot branching in plants. I am particulary interested in integrating gene regulatory networks with hormone transport and whole plant level effects. My career has been helped greatly by the fact that my husband is a freelance writer. Because he works from home in a very flexible way, we have been able to move easily and he has been the main carer for our children. It also worked well for me having the children during my post-doctoral years when my work was more flexible. 36

39 Susan Lanham-New I have worked in the area of nutrition and bone health across the life-cycle since Over the last decade, I have focused my research programme to address three specific areas: (i) what is the interaction between diet and sunlight exposure on vitamin D status in Caucasian and Asian populations; (ii) how might basic dietary manipulation assist the skeleton in its role of acid:base maintenance? (iii) at what level do physical activity & nutrition work synergistically within an individual's genetic potential to optimise bone health? Formation of D3TEX Ltd Promotion to Reader Several key events have significantly impacted on my career. In 1988, I moved from the South Coast of England to the North-East of Scotland, to undertake an MSc in Human Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Aberdeen, with the tremendous help of an MRC Scholarship. This degree opened so many doors and I haven't looked back since. I am hugely privileged to hold an academic position at a top Biosciences University. Women can successfully combine having a family and a career but you must be prepared to i) be adaptable; (ii) cope with little sleep and (iii) juggle an infinite number of balls all at the same time. But it is great, great fun and enormously rewarding. Young Investigators Award at UK Osteoporosis Conference Appointed Lecturer, University of Surrey Young Investigators Award at World Congress of Osteoporosis PhD funded by Nutritional Consultative Panel Nutritional Society Medal Young Investigators Award at European Osteoporosis Conference Arrival of Kristabel Pamela Arrival of Christian Stephen BSc in sports Science MSc in Human Nutrition and Metabloism, Aberdeen 37

40 Carol Robinson Royal Society Professorship Fellow of Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award Biemann Medal From the American Society for Mass Spectrometry Royal Society of Chemistry Silver Medal for Mass Spectrometry Professor of Mass Spectrometry in the Department of Chemistry, Cambridge Medway College - Graduate of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Final year prize MSc, University of Wales 80 PhD, University of Cambridge Training Fellowship, University of Bristol Medical School Birth of Stuart Married Martin break Birth of Paula Assistant, University of Oxford Stuart starts school Birth of Colin Royal Society University Fellow, Oxford University Colin started school Paula started school My research interests are in the areas of mass spectrometry, protein folding and assembly. The introduction of electrospray mass spectrometry, enabled the analysis of individual protein molecules. Using this approach, my initial research interest has been to develop procedures through which it is possible to obtain information about the development of secondary structure during protein folding. I decided to take an 8 year career break to be at home with my children during their pre-school years. I thoroughly enjoyed this time and did not have a problem re-entering science after this break. Many women have asked me about the problems of staying out of the field for so long. However basic science training remains with you and the latest developments can soon be picked up. Nowadays, staying in touch would be much simpler with web access to journals, webcast scientific meetings etc. The most important thing is to do what feels right at the time and to make it work for you. 38

41 Georgina Mace I work on extinction processes and the determination of extinction risk. Early in my career I undertook detailed studies of individual species, including genetic analyses and population modelling. Then I developed some general principles for extinction prone species and these gradually became new rules that have now become standards for international lists of threatened species, and are increasingly used nationally too. More recently I have worked on other aspects of biodiversity assessment. I have been lucky that my work is not lab-based and I can take it with me. For the time my children were small we lived very close to my work, so I regularly did child and office work in short bursts at odd hours! My husband works as a lawyer/planning inspector so he is away for short periods but often at home, writing up case work. Once our children were all at secondary school, he took over many parental duties. A critical period for me was after Kate was born. With three small children I gave up work, but within a year I won a Pew fellowship. This allowed me to work part time and very flexibly for 3 years, and made an enormous difference. BSc Zoology, Liverpool University 75 DPhil Evolutionary Ecology, Sussex University Post-doc Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 80 Post-doc Newcastle University Post-doc Zoological Society of London/UCL Senior Fellow, Institute of Zoology, London Head of Group, Institute of Zoology, London NERC Advanced Fellow, Institute of Zoology, London Ben born Emma born Married Rod Evans Pew Fellowship in Conservation and the Environment Kate born Chair in Conservation Science and Director, Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College London Elected to the Royal Society Director of Science, Zoological Society of London OBE Kate to secondary school CBE Ben to University 39

42 Alison Rodger Professor, Warwick DSc, Sydney Founding director of the EPSRC-funded MOAC Doctoral Training Centre Reader, Warwick 40 Overseas Scholar of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 11 and Fellow, Newnham College, Cambridge PhD, Sydney BSc, Sydney Glasstone Fellow and Inorganic Chemistry Fellow of St. Hilda s College, Oxford Unilever Physical Chemistry Fellow, St Catherine s College, Oxford Married Mark Lecturer in Medicinal and Organic Chemistry, Warwick Senior Lecturer, Warwick Rowena born Elisabeth born My research involves development and application of polarized spectroscopy techniques to study the structure and interactions of biomacromolecules. Most of this work involves cross discipline collaborations. It has evolved from being almost completely theoretical to largely experimental. My career, with hindsight, looks a really logical progression to gain the skills that let me do the multidisciplinary research and doctoral training that I currently do. At the time, however, it was driven by a mix of working on things that fascinated me and the need for both my husband Mark and me to get jobs. We decided that our priority was to live in the same house and pretty much took it in turns to choose where to move. We did have 5 years with a Coventry-Reading commute during which time Elisabeth was born; thankfully soon after Rowena was born Mark moved to Warwick University.

43 Lesley Smart My research interests have always been in the solid state - single crystal Raman, crystallography of small molecules, and latterly the solid state chemistry of ceramic pigments, new materials and catalysts for industrial processes and fuel cells. I've always felt it vital for a woman to have her own career, but juggling work with young children I found very difficult, particularly with Craig commuting to London. We shared child- and house-care as much as possible, and bought in what help we could - the crche on campus was a godsend, as was the flexibility of an academic career. My post has had a large teaching commitment which I love, and it has been a great thrill to publish books. I was older when I had my children and it wasn't until they grew up a little that I have had more time for research again. Laura starts school Craig moves to London Metropolitan University Member of Council, Royal Society of Chemistry Senior Lecturer Sam starts secondary school Molecular Science Awards Director, Open University Laura starts secondary school Craig and I get married Sam to University Laura to University Lecturer, Royal University of Malta PhD Raman Spectroscopy, Southampton BSc Chemistry with Mathematics, University of Southampton 70 Visiting Professor, University of Victoria, B.C., Canada Lecturer, The Open University SRC Fellow, University of Bristol Met my partner Craig, a physics Sam born lecturer Craig starts working in London Sam starts school Laura born 41

44 Anita Thapar FRCPsych Work in clinical posts in South-West Wales MBBCh Medicine, Welsh National School of Medicine (Now Cardiff University Senior Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Manchester MRCPsych. Encouraged to try academic career following Ajay MRC Training Fellowship Work part-time, PhD awarded Married to Ajay, GP trainee Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Cardiff (Full time) Maternity leave Work part-time Arjun is born Ajay relocates with me to Manchester and takes up lecturer post in GP Ajay relocates with me to Cardiff, reverts to mainly clinical and gets his MD. Kirin born. Ajay moves to academic General Practice in Cardiff. I am a clinical child psychiatrist as well as an academic. My research looks into the causes and outcomes of child psychiatric disorders such as ADHD and depression. We have examined genes that increase risk of ADHD, examined how they affect clinical presentation and work together with environmental factors. We are also looking at adolescent depression. I am married to an academic GP and have two children. In my career I have had a lot of support from my husband. I have also been lucky in having helpful mentors. I have worked part-time when the children were younger. 42

45 Karen Halliday My research aims to establish how environmental light signals control plant growth, physiology and development. Above all I would like to understand the molecular events in cells that are triggered by light receptors in response to light cues. I have always felt strongly that work must be as rewarding as the other life components. This said I consider myself very fortunate to have a job that explores fundamental processes in biology. Senior Lecturer Edinburgh Birth of Annelie Annelie in pre-school Eben in pre-school To achieve balance between the workplace and home, my husband, Andrew, and I share responsibility for the care of our two young children. In this way we have both continued to develop our careers and the relative flexibility of academic work has proved very helpful in caring for our young family. Lecturer Bristol Post-Doc Leicester Birth of Eben DPodM LFH/UCL Podiatrist BSc N. E. London Polytechnic Travel in South America Married Andrew Post-Doc USDA Berkley USA PhD Leicester 43

46 Neva Haites Professor in Medical Genetics Vice Principal in Life Sciences and Medicine OBE Janna gets married Elsie graduates in medicine Janna graduates in Business and IT Become a grandmother - Janna has Straun Reader PhD Queensland Bsc Queensland 44 Assistant, Aberdeen 70 Married Roy 75 Janna Born Roy takes position in Oil industry in Aberdeen MB ChB Aberdeen 80 Lecturer in Clinical Genetics MRC training fellowship in recombinant DNA technology Elsie Born Janna starts school Elsie starts school Senior Lecturer My area of research has been in elucidating the role of genes in both inherited as well as sporadic disease. Diseases from the peripheral neuropathy - Charcot Marie Tooth disease to the inherited predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer. More recently I have been interested in how services for genetics can be provided including the extension of roles to nurses and genetic counsellors. My career has been facilitated by the willingness of my husband both to change the companies for which he worked, and then to set up his own businesses in the oil industry and hence having stability in Aberdeen.

47 Ulrike Tillmann I study geometric objects through their topological invariants. In particular I have worked on the moduli space of surfaces. Though my main work has been motivated by questions arising from quantum field theory and string theory, the mathematics involved is very interesting and exciting in its own right. As long as I can think back, I always imagined building an (academic) career and having a large family. Mathematics not being lab-based probably made this much easier. It also worked out really well that when the children were young, I was on a fellowship which meant that I had fairly light and flexible teaching duties. Our children went to nursery and later we have had several au pairs to help with the after-school care (and to reinforce the PhD Stanford, USA Take up German spoken at home). Start of Post-Doc in Cambridge five-year Lectureship at Oxford Awarded 6 year EPSRC Advanced Fellowship Lectureship made permanent Hannah is born Titular Professor Ruth is born Elected to the Royal Society Miriam starts school Ruth starts school Hannah starts school Miriam is born Visiting student in Oxford Abitur in Vreden, Germany 80 BA Brandeis, USA Met Jonathan 45

48 Puyuan born Lecturer in Communications, School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds engineer, ECIT, Queen s university, Belfast Weiqing born Associate, Electronics Department, University of York MEng Electronics, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China BSc Electronics, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China Scientist in Agilent Technology Ltd China Software Design Centre PhD in Communications, Electronics Department, University of York Li Zhang Married Xiaocheng My research interests are in the area of wireless broadband communications, with emphasis on developing novel signal processing techniques to improve both the bandwidth and power efficiency of the overall system. I started my career as a lecturer in August 24. After four years, I have set up my own research group with two RAs and three PhD students. At the same time, I have also set up my family. I have a three-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy. Both of them enjoy their time at nursery from Monday to Friday and this allows me to concentrate on my work. The right balance between work and family life is achieved with the help of the flexibility of academic work and of course the help from my husband, who is also working in academia. 46

49 Janet Thornton My research has focussed on understanding biological processes through analysing protein structure, function and evolution using computational approaches. Although I enjoyed experimental work, I gained most pleasure from analysing and integrating data to characterise, rationalise and ultimately try to predict structure and function, using knowledge-based approaches. Recently at EBI, I have enjoyed the challenges presented by high throughput biology in handling the deluge of data and attempting to plan for the future. It has been a privilege to participate in the genomic revolution which has radically changed and increased our understanding of basic biology. Director, EBI, Cambridge Alexander got married and we now have a beautiful grand-daughter Throughout my career, my greatest pleasure has been in working with students, post-docs and colleagues, seeing them develop and enjoying the excellent science they generate. My priorities (work-life balance) tend to be driven by necessity, with home or work taking precedence according to demands! Moving labs (from London to Oxford to London to Cambridge) has always been difficult, but ultimately rewarding and in retrospect, the right way for me. Went part-time (2 days per week) Post-doc, Oxford PhD Biophysics, NIMR BSc Physics, Nottingham University BBSRC fellowship, part time, Birkbeck Birth of Hazel Birth of Alexander Half-time lectureship at Birkbeck Alan starts work in commercial software development. We settled in Hemel Hempstead, where we have lived ever since. Married fellow student Alan Thornton Returned to full time work Day nanny starts, who continued to look after the children (& me) until they went to University! Bernal Chair UCL/Birkbeck Chair, UCL Both children left home almost immediately after university. Our son became a pilot and our daughter a metrologist. 47

50 Ruth Gregory Awarded IOP Maxwell Medal for contributions to Theoretical Physics Professor Reader at Centre for Particle Theory, Durham Divorced John writes first short symphony, performed informally by Durham Sinfonietta BA in Mathematics, Trinity College, Cambridge Postdoctoral, NASA/Fermilab Astrophysics Center, IL, USA PhD in Theoretical Physics, DAMTP and Trinity College, Cambridge Royal Society URF, Durham My research is aimed at Centre for Particle Theory trying to understand the interplay between spacetime, the PPARC Advanced Fellowship at DAMTP, University of construct and what we see. Although Moved to Durham Cambridge simplistically we have this already in the form of theories or equations, in reality, the Robert R. MacCormick Fellow, route between this formalism and what we see is Enrico Fermi Institute, University Relocated to UK for more subtle. I explore the impact of extra dimensions of Chicago personal reasons on our four dimensional world, and also the possible ways in which gravity and particle physics interact in the Son, John born (5 kilos!!) early universe. I am particularly interested in ways of modifying Married gravity to get unexpected large scale phenomena. I have been very fortunate in having several options to choose from, and have always prioritized my home life in these choices. Unfortunately, my experience has been that family and career can only mix for a woman if their partner is extremely supportive. I think it is incredibly difficult to operate at your natural level as a woman and Mother, as you are hampered by having significantly less time and more demands on it than your male peers, but that only makes it all the more satisfying! 48

51 Penny Gowland Professor I teach in a physics department, but my research involves developing quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging techniques to solve biomedical problems. I am particular interested in using ultrahigh field MRI to study how the brain responds to stimulation. I am also very interested in using MRI to learn more about gastrointestinal function and fetal development. Senior Lecturer Reader My husband is well established and Kings College in London whilst I am settled in Nottingham. Fortunately he has been able to work at home one day a week and I am on an 80% contract. My mother retired when our first child was born and has helped with childcare 2 days a week ever since. My mother is even more useful now since I do a lot of traveling, and with Paul in London if my mother wasn't around we would need an au pair. Sometimes Paul and I hardly see each other, but the children have good roots in Joanna born Nottingham and are confident and self-sufficient. Everything works out because academic life is Lecturer, University of Nottingham flexible and fun, my family and colleagues are supportive, and I have learnt not to Temporary lecturer, Married Paul worry about the future. University of Nottingham BSc Astronomy and Physics, UCL Post-doc, University of Nottingham PhD Institute of Cancer MSc Medical Physics, Middlesex Hospital Medical School Met Paul, who also works in medical imaging Paul appointed lecturer at Kings College, London Paul goes on round the world trip Katie born MRI of my daughter doing the splits. 49

52 Helen Hailes Reader in Chemical Biology at UCL Met my husband to be Stephen Hailes, Computer Scientist 50 BA Chemistry, Cambridge Graduated and started a Ph.D in Biological Chemistry Post-doctoral research, Cambridge Married Steve Lecturer in Chemistry at UCL Started post doctoral research at Imperial College London Completed Ph.D in Biological Chemistry, Cambridge Birth of Rebekah and maternity leave Steve appointed Lecturer in Computer Science at UCL Steve started a Post-Doctoral position at University College London Birth of Samuel and maternity leave Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at UCL My research is focused on the use of synthetic organic chemistry to probe and solve biological problems. Several projects involve the development of new synthetic strategies, including the use of biocatalysts, to construct molecules with improved biological properties. I have managed my career by being organised, having a supportive husband, good childcare and understanding children! I had my first child Rebekah, while doing postdoctoral research and before establishing an independent research career, and then Samuel in the early years of my lectureship. We both juggled full time lecturing, research, and bringing up the children and despite the hard work and long hours the relative flexibility of academic life has helped.

53 Parveen Yaqoob My research investigates the influence of omega-3 fatty acids on maternal and infant immunity, and probiotics on gut health and immunity. Having waited until I had an established research group before starting a family, I had to have IVF to have Aden at 38. Philip is at the peak of his career and is away a lot, so childcare is mainly my responsibility. I often have to turn down invitations to speak at conferences, but because we work in the same field, there are occasions when we are both invited to the same Post-Doc, University meeting and take Aden of Oxford along with us. BA Physiological Sciences, University of Oxford DPhil Biochemistry, University of Oxford Meet my partner, Philip, a visiting Fellow in the same lab Lecturer, University Post-Doc, University of Southampton Philip takes up a lectureship at the University of Southampton Reader, University of Reading of Reading Philip becomes Professor of Nutritional Immunology at Southampton Return to work in August at 80%; Aden starts nursery Aden born 28th December 51

54 Birth of Yiyang Yilin went to primary school Lecturer in Physics, York Birth of Yilin BSc Sichuan University, China R & D Engineer, China Post-doc University of York PhD, Exeter Married Yongbing (Lecturer then, now a Professor in Electronics) Jing Wu My research is to understand the ultimate limit in the reversal speed of a magnetic element by stroboscopic investigation of spin motion in femtosecond time domain. The method I use is femtosecond/picosecond laser microscopy and the application is to determine the maximum working frequency of magnetic storage system. Choosing between careers and families has never come to my mind. In reality, the fact that Yongbing is also an academia in York is very helpful in my career development. We always take turns in childcare for our two children, though I share a slightly higher weight. The relative flexibility of academic jobs has indeed proved very helpful in caring for my children. We are also very grateful to our parents on both sides, who came to the UK a couple of times and looked after the two grandchildren in turn over the last 5 years. 52

55 Jane Hill I examine how species (mainly butterflies) are affected by climate warming and habitat destruction. I work in Britain and the tropics. I am particularly interested in understanding how species respond to environmental changes, and the consequences of these biodiversity changes. I had Matthew once both my husband (also an ecologist) and I had permanent jobs close to one another. Until then, I had various post-doc contracts, most of which involved extensive periods of fieldwork and lots of commuting. Keith and I are both academics and so we are quite flexible in terms of childcare, and we both continue to work full-time. Fieldwork has been curtailed but I suspect this would have happened anyway as Post-Doc Leeds I spend more time managing my research group, and Matthew comes with us on trips to Borneo. PhD Bangor Post-Doc Liverpool John Moores Keith moves to Edinburgh Napier Post-Doc Durham Keith moves to Durham Lecturer York. Keith moves to Leeds Matthew starts school & childminder Senior Lecturer York Matthew is born & starts nursery BSc Manchester 80 MSc Manchester Met Keith Hamer as an Under-Graduate 53

56 Sue Gibson Professor, Imperial College London Elderly mum needs more help Lecturer, University of Warwick Post-doc, ETH Zürich DPhil Oxford BA Cambridge 54 Lecturer, Imperial College London Reader, Imperial Professor, King s College London Alex starts school, nanny leaves College London Anna starts school Birth of Anna, full time with excellent afterschool club and nanny employed Birth of Alex Vernon moves to Imperial holiday scheme College London I became Married Vernon, fascinated by Chemistry Professor, the way metals alter University of Durham the reactivity of organic molecules when I was an undergraduate. A passion to learn more has taken me on an exciting journey, highlights of which include the discovery of new chemical reactions, the creation of a wide range of new chemical compounds, and explorations of the inner workings of key catalytic processes. I have enjoyed wonderful support from Vernon, who fully understands the rewards and demands associated with academic life. From a practical point of view, we have chosen to 'invest' in topquality childcare and domestic help, and we have ensured that our home, our work-places and our children's school are all within a short walk of each other.

57 Helen Osborn My research interests lie at the Chemistry-Biology interface. In particular we are developing treatments for diseases that benefit from increased selectivity compared with more traditional therapies. Diseases of interest include cancer, influenza and bacterial infections, and we are particularly interested in developing carbohydrate-based therapies Maintaining a healthy work-family balance has always been important to me and with the support of family, colleagues and friends I have been able to combine an academic career with the joy of motherhood and family life. I find my daily life is always busy and is often challenging but I would not have it any other way. Promoted to Professor of Biomedicinal Promoted Appointed as Chemistry, School to Reader in Director of of Pharmacy, Medicinal Pharmaceutical University of Chemistry, School Chemistry, School Reading of Chemistry, of Pharmacy, University of University of Reading Reading Daughter born Son starts primary school Daughter starts primary school Lectureship in Organic Chemistry at the School of Chemistry, University of Reading Post-doc Fellowship Chemistry Department, University of Cambridge PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of Bristol Son born Got married to Tariq Got engaged to Tariq BA Chemistry, University of Oxford Met Tariq 55

58 Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award Samuel starts nursery Elected, Fellow, Optical Society of America Birth of Peter (Chaim-Pinhas) Birth of Samuel (Shmuel-Daniel) Principal Systems Engineer, Nortel Networks (formerly STC/STL) Post-doctoral fellowship, General Physics Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow PhD in Electronic & Electrical Engineering, UCL Royal Society University Fellowship awarded (UCL), held Elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering Awarded IoP Paterson Medal Promoted to Professor, Dept of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, UCL Met Anatoly Zayats Polina Bayvel My research is in optical communications and networks - to understand the limits to information transmission in optical fibres and build systems and networks to approach these limits. This includes the study of networks, optical pulse propagation as limited by fibre nonlinearities and dispersion, and new optical materials and devices. I have benefited hugely by having inspiring and supportive mentors, and superb students and colleagues, and this helped me build a critical mass in my research. The arrival of children has been professionally disruptive, especially as Anatoly is a busy physics professor at Queen's University, Belfast and is frequently away. Having parents nearby, an excellent nanny, little sleep and home help have all proved key to being able to maintain the success of my lab. My boys are a great source of inspiration, joy and fulfillment. 56

59 Alison Etheridge I began my graduate work in pure mathematics, but as my career has progressed I have become increasingly interested in applications. Now, although I am still drawn to the beauty of mathematical structures, much of my work is motivated by questions in mathematical population genetics. I am particularly interested in developing models for populations that evolve in spatial continua. I had an established career before having children. This was not really a conscious decision, but it has worked very well. Both children started full-time nursery at three months and since just before Matthew was born we have had an au pair. Crucially, my husband has always been extremely supportive. We do both work rather long hours, but, because our time at work is uninterrupted, when we are at home we can focus on having fun with the kids. We really have the best of both worlds. Lecturer, University of Oxford Reader, Queen Mary and Westfield College London EPSRC Advanced Fellowship Professor of Probability, University of Oxford Married Lionel Charlotte born Matthew born, we get an au pair Matthew starts school Charlotte starts school Neyman Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley SERC postdoctoral Fellowship Cambridge Lionel appointed to lectureship in Oxford BA Mathematics, University of Oxford Met Lionel Lectureship in Edinburgh DPhil, University of Oxford Junior Fellowship, Oxford Visiting student, McGill University 57

60 Alicia Hidalgo Daniel gets a snake Natalia and Daniel ski down black runs Philip moves to Aston University in Birmingham Senior Lecturer, University of Birmingham Philip moves to Warwick University with a Royal Society Industrial Fellowship 58 BSC, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain Meet Philip Marry Davies, mechanical engineer, at Oxford Post-doc, Wellcome CR-UK Institute (now Gurdon Institute), Cambridge, UK Post-doc, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain Philip PhD, University of Oxford Philip does post-doc at the Instituto de Energía Solar, Madrid EMBO Young Investigator Award Wellcome Trust Development Fellow, Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge Philip moves to Melles Griot in Cambridge Daniel is born Natalia is born I play major child-care role as Philip commutes daily to London Philip takes major child-care role while I move my lab to Birmingham Philip joins Scientific Generics in Cambridge Natalia learns to ski, Daniel learns to walk while in the Alps How is a brain made? I wonder how it is that while a brain grows during development, the number of cells is controlled so as to achieve characteristic shape, volume and regional cell densities, while at the same time all the innumerable and complex axonal circuits are established. I would like to understand how structure and function of the brain come together during development and evolution. A sense of enjoyment about life, willingness to work very hard in the lab and at home, a passionate love of science and not needing much sleep, has driven me. I thought if having a family and science happen to occur at the same time in life, I would go for both. Philip and I tried as much as possible to make career choices that would help us both. We have always shared childcare and domestic duties, and have lots of fun with the kids, playing lots and doing together sports, art and holidays that everyone enjoys.

61 Helen Arthur I am investigating how two growth factor receptors (endoglin and Tgfbr2) regulate the form and function of the cardiovasculature in development and disease. I use mouse genetics to explore the role of these key receptors in endothelial cells and in circulating vascular repair cells. Pre-children, I worked on DNA repair and reached lecturer status at Newcastle University. I took an extensive career break when my children were young. After that, a Wellcome Trust Re-entry Fellowship helped me to re-establish a research career, in a completely new field. A 10 year career break from scientific research has given me an extra appreciation of how rewarding this job is! Part-time lecturer British Heart Foundation Senior Basic Science Fellow Wellcome Trust Re-entry Fellowship Postdoc British Heart Foundation Jacob Walton Johnson Lecturer Stephen starts school Claire goes to University Senior Lecturer Michael goes to University Began career break Stephen born Teaching demonstrator, Newcastle University Michael born BSc Genetics, Liverpool 75 PhD Genetics, Nottingham 80 Married Wallace Arthur, an Moved to Newcastle evolutionary upon Tyne biologist (and stayed!) Lecturer Claire born 59

62 Kate Storey Professor, University of Dundee Senior Lecturer, University of Dundee MRC Senior Non-clinical Fellow, University of Dundee Reader, University of Dundee Alexander to University 60 BSc Neurobiology, University of Sussex PHD Kings College, University of Cambridge Met my partner, Jonathan Gordon, Marine Biologist Harkness Fellowship, Postdoctoral, University of California Jonathan appointed to run Departmental Lecturer (full- time), University of Oxford Postdoctoral er (part-time), University of Oxford Maternity leave Emma born Alexander born - career break to 1989 University Lecturer, Fellow of ChristChurch, University of Oxford research vessel Song of the Whale for International Fund for My partner is at sea for 3 months/year and childcare in the early Animal Welfare years was largely my responsibility. I found post-doctoral research quite flexible and have taken a career break and worked part-time during this period. My first independent posts had high teaching demands and our move to Scotland, which was good for both our careers, allowed me to focus on research. Relocated to Scotland, Jonathan working at the Sea Mammal Unit, St Andrews University and as a self-employed ecological consultant I am researching the regulation of neural differentiation in embryos and embryonic stem cells. I aim to integrate different levels of analysis, from signalling pathways to cell cycle control and epigenetic modification to understand better the differentiated cell state.

63 Katharine Reid I study the interaction of light with isolated molecules in order to determine the mechanisms by which energy can redistribute prior to fragmentation, rearrangement, or chemical reaction. I use laser light which has useful controllable properties such as intensity, frequency, pulse duration and polarization in order to study the extent to which these affect the interaction. My research is very fundamental in nature, but carries with it the tools with which chemical reactions might be steered to a controlled outcome in future. I found it very important to establish myself as a successful independent scientist before involving either a permanent partner or children in my life. This meant that when my daughter was born (when I was nearly 37) I had no qualms about making her my number 1 priority while being assured that my career, by then established, would continue. My partner and I share childcare and other domestic duties 50/50 which I think is vital. We are very lucky in that we work in the same place so don't have to deal with any commuting nightmares. Lectureship, University of Nottingham Reader Madeleine born and maternity leave Bought a house with my partner Jeremy (also an academic at Nottingham) Professor Madeleine starts nursery full time Madeleine starts school SERC Advanced Fellowship, University of Nottingham SERC/NATO fellowship, Stanford University, California DPhil University of Sussex BSc University of Sussex 61

64 Visiting Professorship, Harvard University Elected President of the International International Organisation for Biological Crystallization Professor Imperial College London Post Doc Imperial College London (half-time) BPharm Hebrew University Jerusalem 62 PhD Brunel University UK MSc HU Jerusalem 80 Married Jeremy (Lawyer) Fellow Imperial College (4 days a week) Birth of Raphael, 6 months maternity leave Nanny moves in Raphael starts school Principal Fellow Started working full-time Birth of Ariella, 6 months maternity leave Permanent position Imperial College London Ariella started school, I started working full-time Naomi Chayen I specialize in crystallization of proteins, developing a fundamental understanding of the crystallization process and harnessing this to design methodology of producing crystals for rational drug design. The research also involves crystallization on the International Space Station. Several of my research outputs have been patented and commercialized. A combination of several factors has enabled me to combine my career with raising children. Caring for the children is shared with my husband, a live in nanny makes travel possible and the ability to work part time and gradually build up to full time have made it possible for me.

65 Clare Elwell I'm a Medical Physicist developing non invasive optical systems for measuring blood and oxygen levels in the human body. I lead a number of interdisciplinary teams using these systems to monitor brain damage in infants and adults undergoing intensive care, to characterise neurodevelopment in young children and to measure muscle oxygenation levels in exercising athletes. Whilst my career has always been very important to me, I never wanted to pursue it at the expense of time with my young family. For this reason I have worked part time since Julia was born. My husband has a demanding job and so we have always appreciated the need for good childcare, family support and regular holidays. I'm a firm believer that, with hard work and focus, a career in academia can provide for a rewarding Lecturer, UCL work-life balance. Joseph born Return to work 3 days a week Julia starts school get a part time daily nanny Senior Lecturer, UCL Increase my hours to 4 days a week Joseph starts school Professor, UCL Tim makes Partner Increase nanny s hours to 4 days a week Julia starts secondary school MRC Fellowship, UCL Julia born PhD, UCL International Young Scientist Award MPhil, UCL Move to London as Fellow at UCL Clinical Physicist at Hospital in Exeter BSc Physics with Medical Physics Tim qualifies as a Chartered Accountant Married Tim Tim starts work in London Meet Tim in Exeter 63

66 Andrea Brand Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Biology, Gurdon Institute and Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award Senior Group Leader, Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge William Bate Hardy Prize Hannah starts school Elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences BA Oxford PHD, MRC LMB, University of Cambridge 64 Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow, Gurdon Post-Doctoral Fellow, Harvard, USA Institute, University of Cambridge My partner, Jim Haseloff, and I move to Cambridge, UK, to take up independent positions BSCB Hooke Medal Elected Member of EMBO Hannah is born One of the Hannah starts at goals of research nursery in neurobiology is to repair or regenerate neurons after damage to the brain or spinal cord. Neurons are produced by multipotent neural stem cells that can both self-renew and simultaneously generate different types of neurons. My research aims to identify the genes that specify the characteristic behaviours of these neural cells. It may then become possible to induce stem cells to become neurons at will, or induce neurons to regenerate. Jim and I did not consider having children until we had established our own research groups and my Fellowship had been renewed. We have no childcare help at home and our families live in the US and Australia. It has not been easy juggling two careers and family life, but with a supportive lab and very little sleep, it has been possible.

67 Jane Clarke We study the folding of families of structurally-related proteins, diverse in sequence and function. We are particularly interested in the folding, function and evolution of large multidomain proteins that have a mechanical role in the cell. When in Atlanta I couldn't teach, so I went to "back to school" and became fascinated with proteins. Consequently, just after my 40th birthday I switched careers and started a PhD. I was always the main carer for the children, but it is actually possible to do research 9-5, you just have to be incredibly organised. My message? There are many routes to a scientific career. Start PhD at Cambridge University (Chemistry) Part time MSc (Applied Biology) At Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) Welcome Trust Senior Fellowship Welcome Trust Development Fellowship, Chemistry Department, University of Cambridge Post doctoral position MRC Centre for Protein Engineering, Cambridge Awarded PhD Family move back to UK (Hannah now in secondary school, David in junior school) Senior Fellowship renewed Hannah leaves home to go to University Reader at Cambridge David leaves home to go to University Secondary school teacher (Biology and Chemistry) Comprehensive schools in Leicestershire, London and Essex 80 David born Family moves to Atlanta, Georgia, as Chris gets a job in the office there BA York, Biochemistry 70 PGCE Cambridge Married Chris (banker) 75 Hannah born, work part time 65

68 Dian Donnai CBE Carter Lecturer and Medallist, CGS Professor of Medical Genetics, University of Manchester FMedSci President of the Clinical Genetics Society Paul retired, and Melissa married Dan Melissa an NHS Manager, Tom a History Teacher Honorary Professor, University of Manchester Melissa and Tom to University FRCP MB.BS University of London, St Mary s Hospital Medical School 66 Member of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (MRCP) 70 Consultant Clinical Geneticist, Manchester Melissa born December Paul appointed as Senior Registrar in Manchester Paul appointed as Registrar in O&G in Sheffield Married Paul Donnai Paul appointed Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Tom born April My research is into syndromes associated with physical and developmental disabilities. My group has elucidated the genetic mechanisms underlying several disorders. We have a particular interest in mosaicism and in genotypephenotype correlation in Williams syndrome. Close integration of my clinical and academic work is important since we aim to rapidly translate research findings into clinical practice. We have somehow managed a 2-career, 2-children partnership, not by careful planning but by taking opportunities when they arose. In earlier years our moves were decided by my husband's career but after our children were at school the whole family have been supportive of the increasing demands of my career.

69 Nancy Papalopulu We are studying the function and regulation of genes that instruct simple ectodermal cells to become neurons during the formation of the embryo. These genes tend to be conserved in different species, including humans, but we are studying the frog embryo, because it is easier to observe and manipulate. Theme Leader of Developmental Biology in Manchester Move to Manchester to take up Professorship at Faculty of Life Sciences Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship renewed Joanna starts secondary school Marieta starts secondary school Joanna moves to an all-girls school; end of childcare I love my job and look forward to going to the lab each morning. My husband is also a scientist and he understands the pressures of academic research. We lead separate teams but we continuously juggle responsibilities between us, at work and home. I had my children at a time that was critical for my career. In the early years, we invested heavily in good childcare, which enabled me to take minimal career breaks. These days, the lab being a vibrant place full of young people, the children actually ask to come to the lab with us! Post-Doc, Salk Institute, California, USA Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow Wellcome Trust Development Fellow, Gurdon Institute, Cambridge Married Enrique Marieta starts school Joanna is born, Nanny takes over childcare at 6 weeks Marieta is born Met Enrique at a Cold Spring Harbour Course, NY Marieta moves to an all-girls school Joanna starts school Last nanny leaves and after-school help employed 80 University Diploma in Greece PhD NIMR, London 67

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